“Our children and young people have fun, feel loved & included, and go home with a smile.”

Join Our Team at Options Aberdeen

Options Aberdeen is a unique service created through a dynamic partnership between Aberlour and Aberdeen City Council. We deliver a flexible range of support - residential short breaks, care at home, and care in the community - tailored to meet the needs of children and young people with complex disabilities.

When families trust us with their child’s care, they know we provide a safe, nurturing, ‘home-from-home’ environment. This gives parents the chance to recharge while their child enjoys new experiences, builds confidence, and makes lasting friendships.

Working with us is not about quick fixes - it’s about making a real difference over time. You’ll help children achieve small, meaningful steps that lead to life-changing progress. It’s challenging work, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.

Why join Options Aberdeen?

• Impact that matters: Every day, you’ll make a positive difference in the lives of children and families.
• Career development: We’ll support you to consolidate your skills and build new ones, opening doors to future opportunities.
• Team culture: Be part of a respected service with a strong reputation for excellence.
• Variety and growth: No two days are the same - you’ll gain experience across residential care, community support, and family engagement.

If you’re passionate about helping children thrive and want a role where your contribution truly counts, we’d love to hear from you.

Family feedback:

“Aberlour Options Aberdeen for us has been a godsend. Our lives have changed at home. They listen to your views and try and help with whatever is the problem.” Parent.

What We’re Looking For

Are you ready for a new challenge and the chance to build on your existing skills? At Options Aberdeen, you’ll join an inclusive, supportive team where your development matters. Our experienced Lead Practitioners will provide guidance and mentoring to help you grow in confidence, enhance your skills, and deliver outstanding care for the children and young people we support.

We welcome individuals who can bring their own experience and expertise to complement our team. But if you’re just starting your career in social childcare, you’ll also be a valued addition. In return for your commitment and hard work, we’ll invest in your training and development so you can thrive in your role.

We are looking for candidates with enthusiasm, motivation and a caring nature with a commitment to working in a child-centred, outcomes-focused way. Candidates will have a collaborative approach and the ability to contribute to care and support plans that make a real difference. We are particularly interested in candidates with healthcare experience and skills to support children and young people with complex health needs in their own homes. This post is worked as part of a rota and includes, evenings, weekends and sleepovers.

Please note, due to the nature of this role, a full, valid driving licence is essential and the driving of service vehicles will be required. You must have held your licence for at least 12 months.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click here.

What We Offer

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers. Find out more about our Employee Benefits here and our commitment to Equality and Diversity here.

Please also read our recruitment privacy notice - Aberlour | Privacy notice.

Are you a caring, creative and supportive practitioner who is passionate about making a difference for children and young people?

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Barnardo's, working across our Staying Connected and Young Carers services in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

We are looking for someone who can build positive, trusting relationships with children and young people and provide practical, emotional and creative support.

What will you do?

As part of our team, you will:

• Provide one-to-one support to children and young people.
• Plan and deliver engaging group sessions and activities.
• Support brothers and sisters to maintain and strengthen their relationships, creating opportunities to spend meaningful time together.
• Support young carers to have their needs identified and voices heard, including completing Young Carer Statements.
• Work positively with families and professionals to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.
• Raise awareness of the needs of young carers and siblings.
• Work across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire to meet the needs of children, young people and families.

Is this you?

We'd love to hear from you if you:

• Are kind, creative, inclusive and non-judgemental.
• Have experience of engaging and building relationships with children and young people.
• Can ensure children and young people's voices are at the heart of your work.
• Can provide emotional and practical support while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Enjoy working both independently and as part of a team.
• Are able to work evenings and weekends, which is an essential requirement of this role.
• Hold a current driving licence and are confident travelling across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, including transporting young people when required.

If you are passionate about helping children and young people feel supported, heard and connected to the people who matter to them, we'd love to hear from you.

Further Information

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact:

Nicola Williams

Email: Nicola.williams2@barnardos.org.uk

Pay & Reward Framework

We appreciate our colleagues' dedication and their commitment to delivering excellence in the vital work we do, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo'svalues.We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

We are committed to a rounded colleague experience with an approach to both pay and rewards that are fair, attractive, and progressive. This is in support of our strategic ambition to ensure Barnardo's is a place everyone can belong, grow and thrive.

The salary range advertised is in line with our pay principles, for consistency and fairness while recognising the skills and experience applicants bring to the role. Appointing salaries can be discussed further at appointment stage; we do seek to appoint within this range always exercising responsible stewardship.

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Our basis and values

Upside is a Scottish Government funded programme delivering inclusive voluntary throughcare services across Scotland for men, women and young people serving a short-term sentence or following a period on remand. A collaborative and relationship-based partnership model underpins delivery in supporting people to achieve positive outcomes for both them and wider communities. We are recruiting for two skilled and experienced colleagues who can demonstrate a commitment to providing high quality through-care services to join our Barnardo's delivery team.

• We are looking for 2 throughcare community workers covering the Tayside area supporting females and young people
• Being educated to at least SVQ level 3 or equivalent is desirable.
• Experience of supporting individuals in a community setting,
• A current driving licence and use of a car for work as well as being computer literate with proficient experience of Microsoft tools are essential.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Our basis and values

Dr Bell’s Family Centre has been supporting families in Leith since 2006 to thrive and feel safe, supported, and healthy. We offer a welcoming, safe place where families with young children can get support, advice, and encouragement. We offera unique, holistic model that brings early years childcare, therapeutic services, family learning and community support together under one roof.

Dr Bell’s Family Centre is seeking an experienced project worker to contribute towards the delivery of our family and community support programmes.

Benefits: Dr Bell’s is a people-led organisation where staff are valued, supported, and encouraged to thrive. We offer a Living Wage salary, generous annual leave (including Christmas closure, a birthday day off and personal day), flexible working options, enhanced family-friendly policies, a strong pension, and 24/7 wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Programme.